Online Extras

SCHEDULE: AT A GLANCE- Start the season with five straight road games, including the Sept. 20 opener in Guelph.- Play their home opener in a newly renovated Erie Insurance Arena against North Bay, which moved from Brampton following this past season.- Play their annual Thanksgiving Night game Nov. 28 against Guelph, which ends an eight-year stretch of playing Belleville on that night.- Face Niagara in a Veterans Day home game (Nov. 11 at 2 p.m.).- Face Kitchener in a Kids Day "Hockey Hooky" home game (Nov. 19 at 11 a.m.).- Also face Kitchener in a New Year's Eve home game (Dec. 31 at 6 p.m.).- Play 24-of-34 home games on weekends (15 Saturdays, 8 Fridays, 1 Sunday); also play home games on Wednesdays (5), Thursdays (3), Monday and Tuesday (1 apiece).- Has a season-high, six-game home stand from Nov. 8-19.

John Frey envisions definite marketing potential in the Erie Otters' schedule for the 2013-14 Ontario Hockey League season.

The Otters will enter their first season in newly renovated Erie Insurance Arena -- and the final year of their two-year arena lease agreement with the Erie County Convention Center Authority -- with some special additions sprinkled within their slate of 34 home games. It starts with their home opener Oct. 5.

The Otters face the league's newest team, the North Bay Battalion, which moved from Brampton, Ontario, following this past season. In November, the Otters will play three specialty games at home -- Veterans Day against Niagara (Nov. 11 at 2 p.m.), Kids "Hockey Hooky" Day against Kitchener (Nov. 19 at 11 a.m.) and the annual Thanksgiving Night game (Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. against Guelph). The Otters also face the Midwest Division rival Rangers at 6 p.m. on New Year's Eve.

The Otters, who begin the season Sept. 20 in Guelph with the first of five straight road games, have "new events, and not just game dates," said John Frey, director of operations. "It allows us to expand our reach to new or different audiences. They can become staples in our schedule much like Thanksgiving."

The Otters face arguably the most pivotal season on and off the ice in franchise history. While the team attempts to rebound from 10-win and 19-win seasons the past two years, the front-office staff wants to rebuild a fan base that has shrunk steadily in light of the team's on-ice struggles.

The Otters averaged 3,115 fans per game a season ago, which was slightly higher than the franchise-low 2,855 per game in the 2011-12 season but still stands fourth lowest in their history. Their average a season ago also was 1,113 fans per game smaller than the best season attendance in Otters' history -- 4,228 per game in 2004-05.

The Otters also want to capitalize on having 24-of-34 home games on the weekends -- 15 on Saturdays, eight on Fridays and one Sunday. They play five home games on Wednesdays (starting with Oct. 9 against Owen Sound), three on Thursdays, one on Monday (Veterans Day) and one on Tuesday (Kids Day).

The Otters have a season-high, six-game home stand that begins Nov. 8 against Oshawa and ends with the Kids Day game Nov. 19. They play a season-high nine home games in November. The regular season concludes March 15 at home against Sarnia. The Otters failed to make the playoffs the past two seasons.

- News and notes: The Otters begin a five-game preseason schedule Aug. 31 with their only home game against Niagara at Mercyhurst Ice Center, site of the club's weeklong training camp. They have road games against Niagara (Sept. 2), Owen Sound (Sept. 8), Kitchener (Sept. 13) and Mississauga (Sept. 15).

Online Extras

SCHEDULE: AT A GLANCE- Start the season with five straight road games, including the Sept. 20 opener in Guelph.- Play their home opener in a newly renovated Erie Insurance Arena against North Bay, which moved from Brampton following this past season.- Play their annual Thanksgiving Night game Nov. 28 against Guelph, which ends an eight-year stretch of playing Belleville on that night.- Face Niagara in a Veterans Day home game (Nov. 11 at 2 p.m.).- Face Kitchener in a Kids Day "Hockey Hooky" home game (Nov. 19 at 11 a.m.).- Also face Kitchener in a New Year's Eve home game (Dec. 31 at 6 p.m.).- Play 24-of-34 home games on weekends (15 Saturdays, 8 Fridays, 1 Sunday); also play home games on Wednesdays (5), Thursdays (3), Monday and Tuesday (1 apiece).- Has a season-high, six-game home stand from Nov. 8-19.